2.0 is doing great!

Good news from my sis, 2.0 is cooking nicely in mommy's belly, is about 9 oz now (awwww!), did a little wave during the ultrasound, was initially shy about showing his/her parts, but did eventually give up the goods and they now know the gender. It is going to drive me crazy not knowing until a week from tomorrow.

Truly I'm just happy that all is going well. Love my unborn niece/nephew! :)

Dear 2.0

Dear 2.0,

Tomorrow your mommy, daddy and big sister find out if you're a boy or a girl. They are withholding this information from the rest of us until next week at Kendall's birthday party. I've decided I can wait. Here is what I care about-that you are nice and healthy. We already love you soooooooooooooo much, we just want you to be healthy, even if you are a blue/brown-eyed girl/boy with brown hair (per big sis  Kendall and her many varying predictions....). I hope you cooperate tomorrow and show the goods so they will know your gender for sure-we don't do modesty in this family kiddo (just ask your sister, who loves to barge on into the bathroom while you're, um, doing your business).

As we near the halfway point of your cooking in mama's tummy, I pray that the next 20 weeks go smoothly. The timing is a bit unfortunate as being 8-9 months pregnant in July and August in St. Louis is not so much pleasant. I'll pray that your mama doesn't try to kill any of us in a heat/humidity induced rage. :)

I can't wait for you to get here, 2.0. I can't imagine what it's going to be like to have TWO awesome kiddos in my life. The last two years with Kendall here have truly been the best. Your sister is my world....and you will be too. And I promise to be the best auntie I can be. I take my job very seriously. :)

Anyone wanna wager a guess about 2.0's gender? After careful consideration, I'm going with another girl. We shall see!!!!

Let's play some baseball!

Ok, so the Cubs Opening Day isn't until Friday, but Opening Day for some other teams is..........TOMORROW! Yay! Baseball is finally here! I've suffered through a hideous Blues season and I've finally made it to my #1 sport. Thank you, baseball gods.

Do I have high expectations for my Cubbies this year?Meh....probably not. But....maybe. I'm telling you, I am loving myself some Mike Quade. I think he's going to make the most of the mediocre players he has (save for a few that I'd actually consider good. Very few.). And if all else fails, Carlos Pena, Aramis Ramirez, Sean Marshall and Tyler Colvin are all hot....so there's that.

I look forward to chatting with my blog buddies, both on here and on Facebook. I look forward to yelling at the team I've loved for 20+ years now (the "f" word comes out of my mouth a lot during the course of the baseball season). I look forward to having a heart attack every time Carlos Marmol is pitching. I look forward to my trip to Wrigley in July-knocking off an item from my Bucket List by sitting in the bleachers. I look forward to an inevitable meltdown from Carlos "I'm Cured" Zambrano. I look forward to Starlin Castro becoming a superstar in MLB. I look forward to seeing the Cardinals not be good (sorry fam and friends, no offense...it's just the truth. Not that the Cubs will be any better, mind you). I look forward to trips to Busch Stadium, eating those FABULOUS hotdogs and drinking some fine AB products. I love, love, LOVE baseball!

In other news, I think I've been conned into cheering for the Vancouver Canucks during the NHL playoffs. More on this story as it develops.

What does 4th place get ya? Nada.

I had a really good weekend at home. I was heading down to do a trivia night with my brother and found out about a week or so ago that my sis, bro-in-law and niece were also coming for the weekend-YAY!

Saturday started early-like 6:15am early as per usual at Casa Davidson. Mom and dad like to go into town and have breakfast nice and early. Since I'm the insomnia queen lately, I was awake. And I really can't pass up free breakfast. After that I took my car in to finally get my headlight fixed. I figured it would be a no brainer since they'd fixed my other headlight just a couple of months prior. Boy was I wrong. The answer to the proverbial question "how many people does it take to change a light bulb" would be......FIVE. Five people, really? How hard is it? And WHY DID IT TAKE TWO HOURS? Needless to say, I started to become a bit cranky, especially when they came out and asked me if I know what light bulb it required. I politely reminded the lady that they should have that info in their computer since I'd been there before for the EXACT SAME THING. She responds with, "yea, it looks like they didn't enter it into the system". Awesome. I will NOT be going back there.

My sis and her fam arrived in the afternoon and we all had a good time being entertained by Kendall. She loves a captive audience. She declined to take a nap as there were people to entertain and things to get into. Too bad it was so freakin cold and freezing rain, we were all stuck indoors. Kendall is really saying everyone's name well-I'm either "Hewwi" or "Kiwi". She finally started saying my brother's name (Tim) and says that one the clearest. Poor grandma, she is still calling my mom by her first name, Val (although in Kendall-ese, it's "Bal").

Saturday night we had siblings night out. We needed more team members for Trivia Night, so my sis and bro-in-law came too. We had SO much fun!!!! The rest of our team consisted of a couple of my brother's friends and one of his teachers (who for real carried the team). I didn't have high expectations for our team (team name? Bieber Fever. Seriously), but I'm not gonna lie, we kinda kicked some ass. We finished with 89 out of 100 points.....but only managed 4th place. We missed placing by one point. And, as my sister likes to point out, we would have won the whole damn thing if only we'd listened to her (syphilis? Yes.). We second guessed a couple of answers and it cost us. I'm oh so proud that my biggest contribution was in the criminal/serial killer category. True story. We had lots of laughs Sat night.

Let's address the Cubs elephant in the room. And that is the dismissal of Carlos "Shamu" Silva. Let me just say one thing-Don't F with Mike Quade or his coaching staff. He'll cut a bitch, for reals. I'm liking Mike Quade more and more every day. On Saturday it was announced that Andrew Cashner would be the Cubs 5th starter and that Silva would not even be making the team, but that the Cubs would try to find a new home for him on another team. Well, being the giant a-hole that he is, Silva mouthed off to the media, talked some shiz about the Cubs pitching coach and, well, pissed off one Mike Quade. Yesterday morning it was announced that Silva had been released from the team. Done. Gone. They are eating a lot of money to get rid of this buffoon, but I think it was an amazingly ballsy....and necessary move. And then came Mike Quade's tirade when he found out the trash talk Silva was doing to the media. Coach Q dropped several F bombs which, I'm not gonna lie, was kinda hot.

If the Cubs aren't afraid of Coach Q, they might wanna become afraid of him. He is the new Ted Lilly in that he is the team's Bad Ass Mother F**ker. I'm gonna stop calling him the Hairless Cat because, well, I'm afraid he'll hunt me down. In other Cubs news, although they lost yesterday, one Tyler Colvin (KD's baseball crush as I'm sure you'll recall from last season) decided to end the shut out and proceeded to hit a GRAND SLAM. Grand slams are hot. Tyler is hot. He hasn't had the greatest Spring Training ever, but he is looking better out there in right field and was looking not too shabby at 1st base. I'm hoping his hitting will come along-the strikeouts need to stop kid. Just sayin. Here's what needs to happen (not that I'm telling Mike Quade what to do)-Darwin Barney needs to be the starting 2nd baseman. Blake DeWitt sucks (probably because he's from southern Missouri) and Jeff Baker isn't as cute as Darwin Barney, so really, the decision is easy if you ask me (not that anyone did).

Baseball starts in THREE DAYS PEOPLE! Woooooooooooooooooo!

Happy 21st Birthday to Starlin Castro

My God, little Starlin Castro is finally old enough to drink in the US. The Cubs shortstop phenom turns 21 today. For those of you that are good at math, yes, he was born in the '90's. Make ya feel old? Does me. I could have birthed him, for reals. His mom is probably not much older than me.

Happy Birthday Starlin. May you NOT encounter a sophomore slump this season.

I'm gonna enjoy this

This whole having Ryan Theriot in St. Louis is going to be a plethora of entertainment for me. Us Cubs fans already know that Riot tends to be a media and attention whore and he has not changed since "joining the right side of the rivalry" (his words, not mine).

Last night there was some kind of Cardinals special on that I watched in between American Idol performances (I can't stand commercials, so I need to be watching something when the show I really want to watch has gone to commercial break, and Modern Family wasn't on yet). Of course I turned it just in time to catch the Ryan Theriot interview. He really is kinda a douchebag. Something I started realizing the last couple of years when he was still on the Cubs. He tries to play the funny guy to the media, but the schtick is old. Just sayin. Last night they asked him about the new "super tandem" of him and Skip Schumaker as the middle infield. He made some jokey joke about how Skip doesn't like him because he's better looking (a statement that I MOST disagree with. Skip's a hottie) and got everyone laughing. Whatevs. Why don't we talk about your .170 batting average in Spring Training Riot? No?

I have a feeling being here in St. Louis, my summer is going to be full of Ryan Theriot-interviews, billboards, public appearances. Awesome. Fear not Cubs fans, I'll keep you posted on the douchiness.

The 2011 season starts a week from today! Let's PLAY BALL!

The fun never ends!

Sigh. I woke up with a headache today. It's because of the weather. For reals. It's gonna rain. Awesome.

Life continues to be as busy as ever. I told my boss yesterday that I was going to try my best to be positive...but then I walked in the door and that was shot to hell. Seriously. If we could have just ONE DAY where it wasn't insane around here I think I'd be ok. Just one day is all I'm asking.

I did have a good weekend though. Thanks to my awesome sis for recognizing that I needed a pick-me-up. She invited me to go to K's swim lesson on Saturday morning. The early time was no biggie since, seriously, for the last two weeks, I've been awake at 4am every single day. True story. Anyhoo.....watching a bunch of toddlers swim around like little fishies definitely brought a smile to my face. Especially when K kept looking up to make sure mommy and I were watching. After swim lessons, I hung out at their house until it was nap time. Aunt Kerri needed a nap too after our morning of playing. Yes, K and I had fun playing, including pretending we were frogs and hopping up and down the stairs. K made "Hewwi" go first. Probably to make sure I knew what I was doing. She's kinda bossy. I mean, when she needed her poopy diaper changed, she insisted Hewwi do it. Thanks kiddo. Thanks a lot. ;)
There is seriously nothing better in the entire world than hearing K say my name in her high-pitched little girl voice. She says it repeatedly, but I love it.  I can't believe she is going to be 2 in a couple of weeks. Crazy how time flies!

Speaking of, my sis is now 18 weeks along and FINALLY has a baby bump. She's so cute. I think pregnancy agrees with her. Almost to the halfway mark. They find out next week if it's a boy or girl....but won't be telling us until Kendall's birthday weekend. The suspense is killing me, but I've waiting this long.....I'd been feeling boy all along but just this week decided it's a girl. Only God and 2.0 know for sure. Either way, Aunt Hewwi is super duper excited.

Did anyone watch the season premiere of Dancing With The Stars last night? I wasn't going to, but there isn't much else on Monday nights (at least not until Bethenny Ever After comes on at nine. If you haven't watched her show, you MUST. I laugh out loud every time). Anyhoo, on DWTS, Kirstie Alley was REALLY good! And so was The Karate Kid. No way The Karate Kid is almost 50. He was great. So, I may continue to watch. What else am I doing on Monday nights?

Baseball officially starts next week! Some start next Thursday, March 31, but most start on April 1. YAY! I'm going into the season with no expectations for my Cubbies. If their play in Spring Training is any indication then they won't be all that good, but some of the starting pitching at least looks decent. Big Z, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells have all been solid, Matt Garza has been up and down and REALLY needs to get rid of that thing on his chin. And he could use an eyebrow wax as well. Just sayin. New first baseman Carlos Pena may be our newest pinup boy for the season, pretty cute with a killer smile. Love. Not to mention there will also be numerous booty shots from first base. Tyler Colvin is still as adorable as can be-he's not killing the ball like he was last spring training, but I still have faith that he will be good this year. No sophomore slumps for him! I have a friend that just got back from Cardinals Spring Training and she says they look terrible. Tee hee hee. ;)

Day 1 and I'm 9-7

My NCAA brackets are not looking nearly as good as they did last year. My very scientific formula for making picks is not working out for me this year. I've only gotten one upset right so far (GO GONZAGA!). I knew Missouri was going to lose but I picked them anyway.......because I'm a homer. I also picked Illinois to win today....because I'm a homer.....but I don't think they will (sorry Jen).

My scientific formula? Well....one, I pick the team from the region I manage at work. Last year it was all Tennessee teams. This year? GO WISCONSIN! Woot woot. They won last night and I have those Cheeseheads going to the Final Four. Why the heck not? The other part of my formula consists of picking local teams, picking teams in the Big 12 (since that's where Missouri plays) and picking teams whose names are fun.....like Gonzaga. I'm regretting not picking Richmond because their mascot is a spider. That's fun. I could care less about records, and what division is tougher and all that other crap. I like my method.

I'm hoping for a better second half of round 1 today. I have a couple of upsets picked, we'll see how that goes.

Happy March Madness!

Nosebleeds are totally normal......right?

Oh what an eventful morning I've had! Nothing screams "fun" quite like a mega-nosebleed first thing in the morning. Not to be gross, but we're talking MEGA, like it looked like someone tried to murder me, there was so much blood. You're welcome for that visual, by the way. That, coupled with a night of coughing have made for a resurgence of my cold that Just.Won't.Die. It's Day 10 people. DAY 10. I'm so completely over it. I believe the reason I just can't seem to get well is because I am sooooooo freakin stressed out. Like, for reals. I'm so crabby today (all week, really) that I don't even want to be around myself. It's that bad. I realize we all have stress and, in the scheme of things, my life isn't all that bad. I realize there are far worse things going on in the world. But this is MY reality. This is MY life. I'm not minimizing the rest of the things going on in the world, I'm just sayin.

My job has been stressful since April. Yes, 11 months ago. But thus far in 2011 it's getting worse instead of better. We have been slammed nearly every single day, this week has been one of the worst. Not only are caseloads extremely high, but you still have to deal with all the BS things that come along with any job. And we have no time to do that. I've been in near breakdown mode every single day this week. On the verge of tears every single day. We've had ongoing phone problems at work that are beyond frustrating and that no one seems to be able to fix, I've been on the phone with the "help" desk all freakin week. Annoying. I don't care about anything, I don't want to do anything or talk to anyone. Last night, I tried to use my positive coping skills and go for a jog since it was so nice outside. That backfired on me real quick as I began wheezing and coughing. Seems outside air and a nagging cold don't mix. I then proceeded to cough the rest of the night and had to finally give in and take some NyQuil Cough just to be able to get some sleep.

I have plans tomorrow night, something I look forward to every year.....and I Don't.Want.To.Go. I seriously don't want to be around people and I can't fake happy right now. I don't have the energy. I'm irritable and snippy with everyone and I CAN'T CONTROL IT. Maybe I need a dose of my favorite little person....some quality Kendall time might do the trick.

It's March Madness, a time of year I love. But honestly, it's making me sad. March Madness reminds me of my brother-in-law's sister Alyssa, who passed away last April. She was sooooo into sports, even moreso than me, and I remember last March Madness, my sister and I were at her in-laws house upstairs chatting and Alyssa was downstairs with the big TV watching the games. All of a sudden we hear her yelling "yes, yes, YES!" and I looked at my sister and said "well, I guess KU lost" (we all HATE KU). Indeed they had lost so we were all in a celebratory mood and went out to dinner that night and had the best night of drinks, food and conversation. I love that memory, but it also makes me incredibly sad.

This was way more rambling that I intended it to be. I guess I had a lot on my mind. I need to figure out a way to de-stress......and fast. Or I'm gonna give myself a stroke.

Baseball observations and where the heck did this snow come from???

Notice my use of "heck" right there? Yea, ever since I gave up cussing for Lent, I've had to be more mindful of my words. Also, since I decided that for every bad word I say during Lent I'd donate a dollar to my church, the Naughty Word jar is up to $5. All things considered, I'd say that's not bad. Um....Lent is less than a week old, but whatever.

Um.....where did this snow come from, for reals? That was NOT what I was expecting when I awoke this morning. I was fully prepared to have difficulty getting up, since thanks to Daylight Savings Time it is now dark when I get up, but I was not prepared for the hour and 15 minute commute to work....because it was SNOWING. That sooooo was not in the forecast.....was it? And isn't supposed to be like 70 degrees on Thursday? Mother Nature sure is moody!

Although I spent the bulk of the weekend at home as a sickie (this darn cold just will not go away!), I was able to enjoy not one, but TWO Cubs games on TV! Yay! Yes, it's only  Spring Training, but just the sights and sounds of baseball make me happy. During yesterday's game against the Dodgers, I made some observations. Here they are:

-the Dodgers have a lot, I repeat, a LOT of hot players. And this was the split squad, so not even an Andre Ethier sighting...I realize most of those guys will be at AAA, but YOWZA! Made for a fun afternoon of eye candy watching.

-Starlin Castro is a fetus. For real. He's STILL not old enough to legally drink in the US (he will be next week though! March 24 our kiddo turns 21. Holla!). He looks like a 12 year old wearing a grown ups uniform. That said....kid can HIT! His fielding is still suspect, but man what an offensive weekend for him! Two homers on Saturday and more hits yesterday. Love.It.

-Love him or hate him, Carlos Zambrano is one entertaining mo fo. From not knowing what time the game started (did you see him come out to the field still tucking in his shirt?) to throwing off his batting helmet after hitting a double (he said it was too big for his head. Really Z?) to pitching pretty much lights out, Big Z is NEVER boring.

-Jeff Samardzija is terrible. And looks ridiculous w/that pirate-facial hair thing he has going on. And get a frickin haircut already. Long boy hair is soooooo 1997.

-Carlos Marmol was NOT filthy Marm yesterday. Yikes.

-Tyler Colvin looked pretty good at first base yesterday. He botched one play, but made an amazing play later in the game. Plus, there were plenty of booty shots.  Now if he could just cut down on the strikeouts....

-Marques Smith also looks like he's 12. Where do they find these kids?

-I have yet to see my potential new crush, Carlos Pena, play. Stop split-squading it and let me see the goods already!

That is all for now. Less than three weeks before we play for real!

My little munchkin is sick. :(

Little miss Kendall is a very sick little girl. Her doctor yesterday diagnosed her with a pretty icky case of RSV and an ear infection. Munchkin was having trouble breathing, had no appetite and was throwing up. She got sent home with breathing treatments. From what I hear from my sister, it was a pretty rough night, but today, although she is still having breathing issues and has no appetite, she appears to be on the mend. She's taking advantage of her sickness status and is watching her favorite show, "Lala", AKA The Fresh Beat Band. It's a horrible show on Nick Jr but she LOVES it. She calls it "Lala" because thats how the theme song goes. :)

I'm glad to hear she appears to be on the  mend. I just hated that my baby girl was so sick and miserable. My sis said she's been asking for me....um, how cute is that??? Unfortunately, Aunt Kiwi is also battling some sort of bug, so being around the sick kiddo probably isn't the best idea right now. Although I wish I could give her lots and lots of hugs. I miss her every day that I don't see her.

Get well soon baby girl! Aunt Kiwi loves you!

Sizing up the NL Central

Folks, real baseball is just a couple of weeks away. Who's excited? As usually, I really only pay attention to the NL Central since that's the division my beloved Cubbies are in. So, what are their chances this year? I'd be lying if I said that hearing about Cards ace Adam Wainwright and now Brewers ace Zack Greinke going on the DL didn't make me a bit happy. Then again, if the Cubs can't beat their foes at their best,  is it as satisfying? The answer is......I don't think we're gonna have to worry about that. I'm not anticipating the Cubbies being all that good. Then again, they have no expectations on them this year. That could prove to work to their advantage. Maybe. So, what are KD's thoughts on the NL Central rankings this year? Let's take a look, shall we? DISCLAIMER: The following is based solely on KD's opinions and are not, in the least, based on fact or actual statistics.


PIRATES: They're adorable, aren't they? While I think they may be a bit improved, they will still hold court in the NL Central basement this year. They will celebrate only when playing the Cubs since, for some reason, the Cubs don't know how to beat the fearsome Pirates.

ASTROS: What happened to this team? It wasn't that long ago that they were an NL Central powerhouse. They won't be good this year and may even fight the Pirates for the basement

REDS: I'm putting them in 4th place this year (yes, the reigning NL Central champs). I'm doing this mostly because I hate them. They have a bunch of punks and thugs on their team and I just can't be down with that. I hope they implode.

CUBS-A 3rd place finish is realistic, I think. Not good, but not as bad as last season. We pick our battles. IF the starting pitching is as good as it's capable of being, they may have a shot at making a run for the title, but that's a fairly big IF. I hope I'm wrong.

CARDINALS-Yes, they will be without their ace and, yes, it is a high probability that Chris Carpenter's arm will fall off at some point this season and yes, it is also true that Lance Berkman as an outfielder is quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard of, but let's be honest, they almost always contend. Albert is going to be playing for the contract of his life, so expect monster numbers from him. Second place it is.

BREWERS-this may be crazy, but the Fatties are my pick to win the NL Central. Think about it-last season, they had one of the best offenses in the league, all that was missing was some decent pitching. They got that this season. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun both "slumped" a bit last season. I doubt that happens again. As much as I want to punch Braun in the face, I think he will probably have a career year. And Prince, like Albert, will be working for a new big contract as he will be a free agent as well. Yes, Greinke will be starting the year on the DL, but that will most likely be short-lived. If he can keep his shiz together, I think this team could be scary.

So, there you have it. Cheeseheads win it. None of it really matters anyway since we all know that the Phillies will be the NL representative in the World Series. So, really, we'll just be watching this summer for the love of the game. Right?

Lent

Happy Ash Wednesday, everyone!

Lent officially begins today and I have decided to give up.............saying bad words. Now, you may be saying to yourself "there is no way this sweet and docile girl says bad words" (why are you laughing????). But it's true. Bad words just happen.

Here's why this will be a challenge for me for the next forty days and forty nights. Baseball season will start in the midst of Lent. I'm a Cubs fan. The Cubs make me cuss. See where I'm going with this? A true sacrifice indeed. God help me.

23 months!

My precious little niece is 23 months old today! I'm kinda sad because after next month, her 2nd birthday, I will no longer be doing my monthly updates. I mean, who wants to hear "my niece is now 32 months old?". I mean, I can't even do that kind of math. Life with her the last 23 months has been amazing, I can't imagine life before she came along. She is really starting to talk....a lot. I have no idea where she gets that. Nothing makes me happier than to hear her yell "hewwi" or "kiwi" or whatever else she calls me. And I love when I say "Kendall, are we best buddies?" and she says in her cute little voice "yea". LOVE. She is such a funny little person. On Sunday, we were at my grandpa's house after church. Kendall always plays with these coasters he has, only on this particular day, she lined them all up in the hallway. We wondered what she was doing, but just let her play. Well, next she started taking these stuffed animals my grandpa has into the hallway. We went to see what she was doing....she had all the animals lined up in front of the coasters as if they were plates and she was bent over them, telling them all to "eat!". Hahaha. I took a pic and as soon as I get my home internet working again (long story), I'll try to post, it's too cute not to share.

I absolutely cannot believe she will be two next month. Her birthday party is going to be at the carousel here in St. Louis, THE place for two-year old birthday parties. For reals. Her Grandma Pam made her birthday dress...it's gorgeous! She is so talented.

I can't wait to see Kendall as a big sister. She has such a sweet, nurturing side. I think she is going to take to this big sister thing well. Well, at least until that "thing" is getting all of mommy and daddy's attention... ;)

Miss Kendall, Aunt Kiwi loves you very much! You're the greatest kid EVER in the history of kids. :)

The season hasn't even started yet and I'm already angry

I realize being a Cubs fan requires reliance on mood stabilizers and heavy doses of alcohol just to get through the season, but I am already worked up and irritated...and it's only the second week of Spring Training. Yikes.

Carlos Silva sucks. Just putting that out there. The fattie assumed the 5th spot in the starting rotation was his and that there was no contest. Well, let's see, Mr Silva, in your first game you picked a fight with Rami (which did prompt a shirtless Rami interview, so it wasn't all bad) and today? Today I think you outdid yourself, giving up an epic EIGHT RUNS..............in THREE innings. Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaavo!

Seriously, Cubs, cut your losses now. He is not going to get any better. He's not even good enough for AAA Iowa. Make him go away, like, yesterday. Thanks.

Cubs, Hewwwwi and math

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a good weekend! Although it was cold and rainy here, the weekend was fun, thanks for asking.

I spent the bulk of my Saturday with my family-my parents were in town to get their Kendall fix. I love that as soon as I got to their house I hear "hewwwwi!!!!" and see my little munchkin running toward me. Greatest.Feeling.Ever. We are best buddies. K is now learning about genders so we decided to ask her what the gender is for baby 2.0. Kendall says boy. But, then again, she also said her Grandma Val is a boy, so.....speaking of, Kendall has started calling my mom "Bal". Not grandma, or mimi, or nana....no, she is calling her by her first name. Isn't that hilarious???? Even better? She calls her Grandma Pam "pi pi", sounds like "pee pee". Everytime she says it we just crack up. K got to show off her new house on Sat, ok, well her mommy and daddy technically own it, but let's be honest, K rules the roost. At least for now. She showed off her new room, but really just wanted to play and hide in the empty closets. The neighbors kid had a bunch of soccer balls outside. I asked Kendall to count them and she said "one, to, fee, for". Clearly she's a genius. There really were four.

After the fine family fun, I went to my friends Judy and Freida's house for their annual Mardi Gras party. A fun time was had by all. Especially with my Mikey there. I just miss him terribly. It was good to see some friends I haven't seen in awhile. The actual Mardi Gras is tomorrow, and Wed is Ash Wednesday. Time to go to the annual fish dinner at church. Good times. :)

On Sunday, after church, we had a huge family lunch. Just about everyone was there-Grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins, my parents, etc. It was so fun to have everyone together. Kendall was bossing everyone around and telling them to "sit".  She also yelled "hewwwwwi" repeatedly Sometimes it sounded like "kiwi". She can say my name all day long and way she wants to, I just love it! Also, my sis felt 2.0 fluttering about yesterday at church! YAY! Apparently kiddo liked the music. That church organ was ROCKIN. She's now 16 weeks ago, after much confusion and math, my sis informs me that that means she is starting her 5th month of pregnancy. Math is hard people, and I shouldn't be expected to know how to do it, mmmmkay?

After the fine fam fun yesterday, I rushed home to.................WATCH CUBS BASEBALL!!! Woot woot! Yea, so it was only spring training, but it was the first televised game and I just wanted to be able to see my boys in action. SO exciting! It was like seeing old friends you haven't seen in years. I had such thoughts as: hey Marlon Byrd, how ya doin? Geo, lookin good! Who the F is Thomas Diamond? and why is Tyler Colvin playing in the other split squad game and why don't I get to see him? Stuff like that. Even more fun, the Cubs won on a walk off homer by DJ LeMahieu (sp? I'm too lazy to look it up) in the bottom of the 10th. Pretty sweet day.

KD was then fast asleep by 9pm (no joke) and I woke up at 4am ready to start my day. Um........

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeekend!

The weekend is nearly upon us. I, for one, am happy about this. How bout you?

Let's see what randomness I can thrill you with today. So, on the Cubs front, young Mr Tyler Colvin is getting his first start at 1st base-a position he hasn't played since college. I can't watch the game, but I'm following it online.....Cubs up 1-0 and so far no errors...in the bottom of the 2nd. Works for me!

It's Mardi Gras weekend! It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but I'm sure folks will be out in full force at the parade tomorrow. I will not be one of them. I'm too damn old for such nonsense. I do plan, however, to attend a Mardi Gras party at my friend's Judy and Frieda's house. This is the 3rd annual and sure to be as fun as the previous two. That Judy makes a mean hurricane.

Before reveling in Mardi Gras fun, however, I will be hanging with the fam. My parents are coming to town to get their Kendall fix, so some fine family fun is in order. Kendall is excited to see pawpaw, fdfjdlfjdifj (she has a gibberish word for "grandma") and Harry. Who is Harry? That'd be me. Just last weekend she was still calling me "Kewwi" but has now apparently dropped the K and is just going with Harry. Sweet. I'll take it. She can call me whatever she wants. As long as she's calling me something. Speaking of kiddos, my sis  had her 15 week appt yesterday and 2.0 is growing strong! They will find out the gender on March 31, I can't wait to see if I"ll be doting on two nieces, or one of each. Either way, I'm stoked. I'm fairly certain I was born to be an auntie. It's my most favoritest job ever!

If you're Mardi Gras-ing it up this weekend, please be careful! Don't do anything crazy or anything you don't want posted on Facebook.

Let's discuss The Fight 2011, shall we?

Oh St. Louis, I should not be surprised by this, by the way you jumped all over the "story" about the two Cubs players getting into an altercation yesterday. I realize focusing on another team helps take away the focus on your own team, you know, the team whose players are dropping like flies daily....but I digress. So, yes, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos "Fattie" Silva got into a bit of a skirmish yesterday. Fattie was pissed because his team behind him had like 47 errors (roughly) in the first inning. He apparently said something in the dugout that Rami took offense to, and Rami said something. Let it be known that not only is he hot, but Rami is not a troublemaker. He says so himself: "I never have that problem in my life, not in the regular season, nowhere, not in Little League," he said. "I never got involved with a teammate like that. It's in the past and we'll move on."  See. Never. Nowhere.

The media here is taking this as a sign that the Cubs are already in self-destruct mode before the season even starts. While this may be true (2012 is their year, dammit!), I prefer to see it in a positive light. It at least shows that THEY CARE. Right? Getting pissed about not playing well at least shows some fire, the 2010 Cubs would have just shrugged it off and not cared about leading both leagues in errors after only four spring training games. Am I right?

Now, I realize that Carlos Silva outweighs me by a good 200 pounds, BUT, I swear, if he harmed even one little tiny hair on Rami's head, I WILL come after him. Be afraid, Fattie, be very afraid. I know how to get to HoHoKam. Just sayin.

I leave you with a quote from Cubs manager Mike Quade, who, I must say, I like more and more with each interview.

"You've got two pissed-off people," Quade said after the 12-5 loss to the Brewers. "It was a brutal first inning with plenty of blame to go around, and people get frustrated. Maybe that's what we freaking need. Maybe we need to get pissed off."

One of the Carloses..........

This pic of Carlos Silva running makes me giggle. Probably because he weighs roughly a metric ton. Ok, that's not nice, but he IS a big boy, clearly. Sure hope he pitches well today, since he's convinced he'll be the 5th starter. Um....we'll see about that.